Few numismatists bridged the academic and commercial sides of the
hobby as well as the late David Akers. His six-volume series
published between 1975 and 1982, United States Gold Coins: An
Analysis of Auction Records, was definitive for a generation
and remains influential. His four-decade career as a dealer and
auctioneer, first with Paramount International Coin Corporation and
later as David W. Akers, Inc., saw many great successes. Most
notable of all was the John Jay Pittman Collection, offered in
three parts from 1997 to 1999, which benefited from his concise,
erudite, and scrupulous cataloging. He received Lifetime
Achievement awards from the American Numismatic Association and the
Professional Numismatists Guild, which also recognized him with the
Robert Friedberg Literary Award and the Abe Kosoff Founders Award.
He was one of only two dealers to win all three of PNG's highest
honors.

Sharron Akers married David in 1969, during the period between his
service in Vietnam as an artillery officer and his coin career,
when he was a graduate student and later a collegiate instructor in
mathematics. They were together for 43 years until his death and
she was an important presence at David W. Akers, Inc. The 23 coins
in The David &
Sharron Akers Collection showcase his remarkable eye for
quality, including multiple MS69-graded gold dollars. Their
1826 BD-2 half eagle,
MS66 PCGS, is by far the finest of just three examples known
and a major highlight of Platinum Night.

Generations of numismatists have repeated a canon of commonly held
beliefs about original Confederate cents, one of which we
are excited to be able to offer as a part of our 2014 January 8 - 12 FUN US
Coin Signature Auction in Orlando. The maxim still holds true
that once a numismatic fallacy is repeated it becomes fact; after
it is repeated again it becomes anabsolute fact. Very little
is known as fact about original Confederate cents. What is known is
either 12 or 16 pieces were struck in early 1861. Robert Lovett,
Jr. was the engraver responsible. The first appearance at auction
was in January 1874. Beyond that, just about everything is open to
conjecture.

Much of the uncertainty about the original Confederate cents stems
from an address made by John Haseltine at the 1908 ANA Convention.
By 1908, Haseltine was "one who belongs to the old school of
numismatics," as Henry Chapman considered him. His address
introduced several previously unmentioned "facts" about the
discovery of the Confederate cents. These so-called facts were
listed and debunked in Harold Levi and George Corell's book The
Lovett Cent, a Confederate Story. They have long been an
integral part of the CSA cent story. They include:

"First, Robert Lovett, Jr. spent the discovery coin in a West
Philadelphia bar. Second, Haseltine purchased the discovery cent
from the bartender. Third, the order for the Confederate cent dies
had come through Bailey & Company. Fourth, Lovett buried the
cents, and presumably the dies, in his cellar. Fifth, one day
Lovett opened a drawer of a cabinet and Haseltine saw a little line
of Confederate cents."

Undoubtedly, as the recipient of a honorary
life membership in the American Numismatic Association, Captain
Haseltine wanted to spin a fine story about the Confederate cents
for his audience, but the truth was just as interesting as the
stories he created. The story about one of Lovett's pocket pieces
surfacing in a Philadelphia bar was not part of the story until
Haseltine's address in 1908. The assertion that the dies had come
through Bailey & Company seems highly improbable. This also
seems like a 1908 afterthought as Robert, Jr.'s brother George had
been contacted directly by an agent of the Confederate government
to engrave a seal for the Confederacy. Unless Robert was contacted
directly by a Confederate agent also, The National Bank Note
Company is the most likely link to the Confederacy as they printed
the first issue of Confederate notes. A bank note company would
have maintained a list of engravers and die sinkers as a service to
their clients. As for Haseltine's 1908 assertion that Lovett buried
the coins and dies, there is no physical evidence on the known
pieces that he did so. Haseltine's assertion that he saw "a little
line of Confederate cents" seems highly unlikely. At the time of
the appearance of the discovery piece in late 1873, Haseltine was
busy preparing two impending auctions, and it was not Haseltine but
Dr. Edward Maris who actually purchased the Confederate cents from
Lovett (Maris is not mentioned in the 1908 address). Haseltine did
purchase the dies and soon began his restriking scheme. He also
purchased eight of the original cents from Maris in 1874.

The greatest concentration of truth about the original strikes of
the Confederate cents seems to be clustered around the time of
their discovery and the sale at auction of the discovery piece. In
Haseltine's January 1874 sale, he apparently knew some of the
facts, but appears to have not known how many pieces were struck.
It appears that Haseltine believed the mintage was limited to the
coins he had seen. This fact was later clarified by Dr. Maris, who
actually owned the coins.

In Dr. Maris' catalog from 1886, he stated "I believe only about
sixteen were ever struck." This number is in line with the number
of pieces known today (13), allowing for a loss of three coins over
the period of 150+ years.

Some original Confederate cents were struck from perfect dies, but
most show a faint die crack along the right side of the wreath on
the reverse. Numismatic researcher P. Scott Rubin used this die
crack to pose the question: "Why would Lovett deliver a broken die
to the Confederacy?" It appears that even though the dies were
ordered by the South, they were not delivered to the South.

This example we
will be offering at FUN shows no trace of
die cracking along the right side of the leaves on the right side
of the wreath, indicating this was one of the first, if not
the first of these historic coins struck. A curious feature
is noted in that area, though: Pronounced mechanical doubling is
seen along the leaves on the right side of the wreath. The strike
details show slight softness over the high points of the design on
each side. However, the L (for Lovett) is especially strong, as
seen on all original Confederate cents. Restrikes have
significantly softer definition, presumably because of reduced
striking pressure used by Haseltine because of the cracked reverse
die. Another notable difference between originals and restrikes is
that originals were all struck with a medallic turn, while
restrikes were produced with a coin turn.

Original Confederate cents have been designated as both business
strikes and proofs by PCGS and NGC. Examination of the population
data from both services indicates the divided opinion about the
nature of the striking of these pieces. PCGS has certified four
Mint State pieces, ranging from MS61 to MS64+. At PR63, this is
the only proof PCGS has certified. NGC has only graded two
originals as business strikes, a pair of MS62 pieces. The other
five pieces they have certified have been graded as proofs, and
range from PR61 to PR64. (Undoubtedly, there are resubmissions
included in these numbers.) In our opinion, this coin is a
shallowly mirrored proof that was most likely only struck once. The
fields, especially the reverse fields, show evidence of slight die
polishing, but not enough to actually give the coin the appearance
of a proof, as understood in the traditional sense. The surfaces
display the tan-golden color expected from a copper-nickel cent of
88% nickel / 12% copper alloy. The reverse shows deeper,
reddish-tinted patina. Areas of shallow planchet porosity are seen
on each side — mostly around the margin on the obverse, more
obviously seen in the lower reverse field below the CE in CENT.

This original
Confederate cent has been off the market since 1974. It was
bought by the consignor's father, Dr. Dudley Noble, in April 1974
for $14,995. Mr. Noble died at the all-too-early age of 48. His
sons saw the significance of the coin and how it would fit into
their collections of Civil War memorabilia that included guns,
swords, ambrotypes, tintypes, buckles, buttons, and Confederate
currency.

Every day Heritage receives thousands of
emails and phone calls from clients all over the world asking us to
evaluate their property. Almost always, our first response is: send
us a photograph of the item. The old adage "A picture is worth a
thousand words" is very true... but only when the "picture"
provides useful information. Here's a list of basic do's and don'ts
when sending photographs of your property to our specialists for
review.

DO send photographs that are in focus and have enough light to
see the item being photographed.
If you can't see what it is, then we can't either.

DON'T email photographs larger than 1MB each.
Larger-sized digital photographs are easier to zoom in and see the
details, but too many extremely large photographs in one email
completely crashes our computer system. Use a zip file if you need
to send more than a dozen images. On the other hand...

DON'T email photographs too small.
Digital photographs less than 100KB are so small that we can't see
the item well enough to give an opinion on its age, quality, and
value.

DO check your images before you click Send.
More often than you would think, we receive someone's personal
photographs attached to the email by mistake. It doesn't take but a
second to double check that you are sending the correct images.
Some of you sure throw some wild parties!

DON'T send photographs with large glares.
Camera flashes and direct sunlight often produce glares in
photographs, especially on pieces that are framed with glass or
have very shiny surfaces. If your piece is framed, you may have to
remove the glass in order to photograph it.

DO send photographs of the entire front and the entire
back.
Close-up photographs are great, but don't forget to send us a
photograph of the overall front and back of the piece(s). We don't
want to miss anything important because it was cropped out of the
photograph. Note — it's generally OK to send photographs of only
one side of comic books, sportscards, or movie posters.

DO send a detail of the signature and any other markings, if you
are inquiring about any kind of artwork or autograph.
Signatures, dates, titles, inscriptions, labels — they are all
important and the detail images that you send assist us in
determining the best value for your piece.

Heritage Auctions is seeking talented numismatists with a broad
range of expertise to join our Dallas office. If you have a good
working knowledge base of U S. coins and currency and are
comfortable dealing with the public, we have openings for permanent
positions as a buyer. Duties will include dealing with walk-in
clients, evaluating and purchasing coins and currency, working
local coin shows, and accepting Auction consignments. Pay will be
commensurate with numismatic experience.

When you win any lot worth with a hammer price of $1,000 or more
(or $2,500 for Art and Nature & Science lots), you will receive
a coupon that entitles you (or your heirs) to re-consign that lot
to Heritage at a reduced seller's commission. Selling through
Heritage is a convenient and hassle free way to maximize your
return (find
out why). Maybe you'll need to make room in your collection for
something better, perhaps your collecting tastes will change, or
maybe it will be your heirs that benefit; but be sure to save the
coupon, which could be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Coins: 0% Seller's Commission for all items $1K or
more.

Comics: 50% of the usual Seller's Commission for all
items between $1K & $10K, and 0% for items $10K and over.

All Other Categories: 50% of the usual Seller's
Commission for everything else over $1K ($2,500 for Art &
Natural History).

As the fastest growing American-based
auction house, financially rock-solid Heritage Auctions continues
to grow and seek the best talent in the industry. If you are a
specialist or have strong general collectibles knowledge, we want
to hear from you. These specialists will, in some cases, head new
departments and in others will enhance existing department
expertise. We have positions open at our headquarters in Dallas as
well as at our new state-of-the-art galleries in prime locations in
both Midtown Manhattan and Beverly Hills.

Heritage is seeking to hire the world's best specialists in the
following categories:

Asian Art Specialist

Automobilia Specialist

Coin Buyer

Decorative Arts & Design Specialist

European Art Specialist

Modern & Contemporary Art Specialist: (New York,
Beverly Hills)

World Coins Director: Hong Kong

If you are interested and feel you have the qualifications we
seek, please email your resume and salary history to Experts@HA.com.

We are also seeking to fill the following corporate positions:

Client Data Specialist part-time

Client Services Representative

Color Imaging Specialist

Consignment Coordinator

Currency Consignment Director

eCommerce Content Specialist

e-Publishing Expert

Interns

Maintenance Assistant

Nature & Science Auction Coordinator

Shipping Associate

Web Marketing Specialist

U.S. Coin Cataloger Needed

If you are interested in applying for one of these Corporate
positions, please
apply here.

An exquisite Diamond, Sapphire
Platinum Ring, its smooth, sweeping lines featuring a
cushion-cut diamond weighing 3.86 carats and a cushion-cut sapphire
weighing 5.03 carats, is expected to sell for $175,000+ in Heritage
Auctions' Dec. 9 Fine Jewelry Signature
Auction in Dallas. The auction offers more than 1,800 lots of
diamond and gemstone jewelry from several private collections
including Farrah Fawcett, Mrs. Walter Matthau and pieces formerly
in the collection of Elizabeth Taylor.

"We think collectors will appreciate the large variety of
fresh-to-market pieces in this auction," said Jill Burgum, Senior
Director of Fine Jewelry at Heritage. "From coast to coast, our
staff has worked with several important collectors and estates to
cultivate an irresistible selection."

A selection of high carat diamonds and gemstones is led by a 36.22
carat Burma Sapphire, Diamond
Platinum Ring, enhanced by full-cut diamonds weighing an total
of approximately 2.70 carats, is expected to sell for $300,000+. A
Diamond, Gold
Necklace, featuring a round brilliant-cut diamond weighing
22.11 carats, is expected to hammer for $175,000+. A Fancy Intense
Yellow Diamond, Diamond,
Platinum Gold Ring, set with a cushion-shaped diamond weighing
10.01 carats, is offered with a $150,000+ estimate, and a Burma Ruby, Diamond
Platinum Ring, featuring an oval-shaped ruby weighing 5.76
carats and enhanced by a marquise-shaped diamonds weighing a total
of approximately 1.60 carats, is expected to cross the block for
$125,000+.

A romantic Diamond, Platinum
Necklace weighing a total of approximately 66.25 carats and
decorated with delicate icicles of diamonds giving way into lively,
full-cut diamonds as designed by Fred Leighton, is expected to sell
for $120,000+.

Leading the auction's numerous private collections is a selection
of 40 pieces of jewelry from the personal property of actress
Farrah Fawcett, including a Diamond, Platinum
Ring, with a 10.95 carat marquise-cut diamond, which is
expected to sell for $100,000+, a Diamond, Platinum
Bracelet, featuring square-cut diamonds weighing a total of
approximately 11 carats, which is expected to bring $10,000+, and a
set of three Diamond, Gold
Bracelets, expected to sell for $5,000+. Likely to generate
significant collector interest is Fawcett's Diamond, White Gold
'Faucet' Pendant, upon which she based her line of designer
costume jewelry. The iconic, personally-owned pendant is
conservatively estimated to bring $2,000+.

A rare and unusual Black Opal Necklace
by Tiffany & Co., circa 1900, appears at auction from the
estate of Charlotte Bishop Williams Kip (1864-1926), a portrait of
whom is included in the lot. Kip and her husband, Frederick
Ellsworth Kipp (1862-1938), made their fortune in the textile
business. They built an exquisite, turn-of-the-century mansion in
Montclair, N.J., popularly referred to as Kypsburg, or Kip's
Castle, which is now owned by Essex County. Mrs. Kipp's necklace, a
delicately crafted masterpiece featuring an oval-shaped black opal
cabochon and framed by round-cut blue and yellow sapphires, is
estimated to bring $30,000+.

Additional luxury designer pieces include works by Bvlgari,
including a classic Diamond, Emerald
Platinum Ring, enhanced with a 2.53 carat European-cut diamond
and a 2.49 carat round-cut emerald, estimated to bring
$30,000+.

Heritage is excited to announce our upcoming
New York Signature Auction
to be held at our Headquarters in the heart of the world's largest
numismatic hub, New York City, from February 3rd-5th. Our proven
auction successes in this city, with this November's Signature
auction realizing over $11 million, combined with the highly
acclaimed Eric P. Newman Collection which realized over $23
million, show the power of combining a stand out location with
quality auctions. We anticipate strong bidder participation during
this February's event due to the offering of some of the finest
rarities, which are fresh to the market.

Take advantage of consigning to this auction where your coins will
stand out amongst the crowd. The December 20th consignment
deadline for US coins is approaching. Call our Consignment
Hotline at
1-800-872-6467
x1000 today!